JOE COLE arrived at Liverpool amid a blaze of publicity but just a year later he has slipped out of the back door unnoticed.

The 29-year-old midfielder’s Anfield nightmare is over after he joined French champions Lille on a season-long loan deal.

When Cole penned a four-year contract last July he was celebrated as the Reds’ marquee summer signing.

He was the first new recruit of Roy Hodgson’s reign and securing him on a Bosman from Chelsea was hailed as a major coup.

Liverpool had beaten off stiff competition from Spurs for his signature.

Hodgson described him as “one of the best midfielders in the country” and backed him to provide a much needed cutting edge in the final third.

Cole said all the right things. He had joined the biggest club in England, he loved Scousers and he was a fan of the Beatles. He had high hopes of re-igniting his career and adding to his 56 England caps.

Sadly, when it came to performing on the pitch he was found wanting.

Cole’s eagerness to impress led to him being sent off for a crude lunge on Laurent Koscielny on the opening day of last season against Arsenal.

In his next appearance against Trabzonspor in the Europa League he missed a penalty in front of the Kop.

He did net the fastest European goal in the club's history with a first-minute strike against Steaua Bucharest but there was precious little else to cheer.

Injuries hampered his progress and after a miserable Merseyside derby defeat at Goodison last October he admitted he was enduring the worst run of form in his career.

Hodgson couldn’t hide his frustration at the lack of Cole’s contribution and even revealed it hadn’t been his decision to sign him.

Managing director Christian Purslow had instigated the move for Cole prior to Hodgson’s appointment in place of Rafa Benitez.

“I was involved in the discussion with him, but the initiative and the desire to take Joe did come from Christian perhaps more so than myself because I wasn't in the position to say these are the players we should be targeting as I hadn't been offered the job at that point,” Hodgson said.

“He's not so much a player I can really take responsibility for. I'd have to share the responsibility for Joe, less so than for people like (Christian) Poulsen, (Raul) Meireles and (Paul) Konchesky, who are players I was quite happy to bring to the club.”

Offering Cole a lucrative four-year deal on around £100,000 per week proved to be costly mistake.

Team-mates always spoke positively about him and there were never any complaints about his attitude or commitment.

But physically he just couldn’t cope with the pace of Premier League matches. A serious knee injury sustained back in 2009 had clearly taken its toll.

The sight of Cole hands on hips as games passed him by became a regular sight.

Once Kenny Dalglish took over in January his opportunities to impress dwindled. He started just one league game under the Scot and that was at Villa Park on the last day of the season.

At the start of pre-season Cole was bullish about his hopes of kick-starting his Reds career but with the arrival of Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing he slipped further down the pecking order.

Now he has admitted defeat and accepted he had to move on. The carrot dangling in front of him was a return to playing in the Champions League with Lille.

Hopefully he will stay fit and make a big impression in France. Cole wasn’t right for Liverpool but after a miserable 12 months he deserves some good fortune.